This is part of an ongoing series, that will stretch out over the next month. It’s more or less going to be a daily fixture. They will cover possible upgrades that you can make for your mental and physical game. Feel free to pick out the ones you like and leave the rest for another day. We don’t have to make getting fit too complicated.

The Fit Conundrum– The evening tends to be the point where the diet takes a short hiatus. Snacking has also been strongly correlated with the modern rise in obesity.

Habitual snacking is one of those things that seems harmless enough at first. In your mind, you’re just pecking. If the portions are tiny, do they really count? The answer is likely yes, because they stack up. Allowed to run over the course of the day, snacking can easily stack up to over 500 calories worth of morsels.

If you could simply make a point to stop snacking altogether, then the diet can easily be won in one step. But the issue is that by being a habit, it’s going to take a monstrous effort to simply remove it from the picture.

So in this case, concessions can be made. By putting a rule in place that you can’t eat within 3 hours of bedtime, you’ll be able to keep snacking out of its most dangerous hours. The evening period coincides with your lowest levels of willpower, and often the highest points of boredom and mindless eating. 

The evening routine often involves spells of watching TV or the latest youtube video on Armenian archaeology, and that marks the perfect time to start grabbing handfuls of crisps. Pulling away from that damaging habit is going to be a crucial part of establishing a better relationship with food. Eat to energise, rather than fill up idle time.

Moving meals earlier and locking up the cupboards at 7-8PM might be enough to drastically lower your calorie intake, and there’s more. Sleep will almost certainly change for the better, as the body can now dedicate its resources towards recovery, rather than juggle it alongside digestion.

Read The Complete Fasting Guide